Greece – Family benefits
This chapter includes everything you need to know about family benefits in Greece.
Here you will find information on the following:
- Child benefit (ΕΠΙΔΟΜΑ ΤΕΚΝΩΝ)
- Childbirth benefit (Βοήθημα Τοκετού)
In what situation can I claim?
- Child benefit (ΕΠΙΔΟΜΑ ΤΕΚΝΩΝ) is provided to families for every dependent child up to 18 years old or 19 years old if enrolled in secondary education (up to 24 years old if enrolled in compulsory or higher education). Beneficiaries are required to permanently and constantly reside in Greece over the last five – year period. Organisation of Welfare Benefits and Social Solidarity (OPEKA) (former Agricultural Insurance Organisation, OGA), is responsible for paying the benefit.
- Childbirth benefit (Βοήθημα Τοκετού) is a lump-sum benefit paid by the National Organisation for the Provision of Health Services (EOPYY) to salaried employees who are directly insured and to pensioners, as well as to the spouses of insured persons and pensioners. The benefit is provided to women who choose to give birth at home in order to cover their childbirth costs.
What conditions do I need to meet?
In order to receive the family benefit:
- Child benefit is a non-contributory benefit, means-tested and not taxable.The benefit can be paid depending on equivalent family income.
Categories | Income limit (EUR) |
1 | Up to 6,000 |
2 | 6,001 – 10,000 |
3 | 10,001 – 15,000 |
- Childbirth benefit: in order to receive the childbirth benefit, you must have accumulated 50 days of insurance during the previous year or during the last 15 months, without however counted the last three months.
What am I entitled to and how can I claim?
Child benefit amount depends on the number of the dependent children and the category of the equivalent family income.
For the first category:
- EUR 70 per month for the first dependent child
- An extra EUR 70 per month for the second dependent child
- An extra EUR 140 per month for the third and every other dependent child beyond the third
For the second category:
- EUR 42 per month for the first dependent child
- An extra EUR 42 per month for the second dependent child
- An extra EUR 84 per month for the third and every other dependent child beyond the third
For the third category:
- EUR 28 per month for the first dependent child
- An extra EUR 28 per month for the second dependent child
- An extra EUR 56 per month for the third and every other dependent child beyond the third
In order to receive the family benefit, the beneficiary must file an A21 application for family benefits online via the TAXISnet website once he have filed his income tax return (E1).
Childbirth benefit: the benefit is provided by the Illness Benefit Department of the local insurance unit of the Unified Social Security Fund (EFKA) at your place of residence, to which you must submit a birth certificate.
Benefit | Duration of benefit | Amount of benefit |
Childbirth benefit | Lump sum | EUR 900 for 1 child, EUR 1,200 for twins and EUR 1,600 for triplets. |
Jargon busters
- Dependent child: children who are born in wedlock, whether biological, adopted or recognised, and who are not older than 18 or 19 years of age, provided they are attending secondary school. In cases of children studying at a tertiary or higher education institution in Greece or at an accredited institution abroad, or at a Vocational Training Institute, the benefit is provided during the term of each child’s studies, but cannot under any circumstances be provided after the age of 24. Furthermore, in terms of entitlement to the benefit, dependent children include children with a degree of disability of over 67%, as well as orphaned children who have lost both their parents.
- Equivalence scale: the equivalence scale is defined as the weighted sum of the members of a family. The one parent has a weighting of 1, the other has a weighting of 1/3 and each dependent child has a weighting of 1/6.
- Equivalent income: equivalent income is defined as the annual total family income, as stated in the income tax return of the current fiscal year, divided by the equivalence scale.
- Income category: families entitled to the single allowance child support are divided into three income categories depending on their equivalent income, as follows: families with an income of up to EUR 6,000 receive the full benefit (category A); families with an income from EUR 6,001 to EUR 12,000 (category B) receive 2/3 of the benefit, and families with an income from EUR 12,001 to EUR 18,000 (category C) receive 1/3 of the benefit.
EXAMPLE
A family (two parents) with two dependent children and an income of EUR 16,000.
Equivalence scale: 1 + 1/3 + 1/6 + 1/6 = 1.666
Equivalent income: 16,000/1.666 = 9,604
Income category: B
Family benefit: 80 x (2/3) = EUR 53.33 per month
Forms you may need to fill in
The form for child benefit is A21 and has to be sent to Organisation of Welfare Benefits and Social Solidarity (OPEKA) via taxisnet.
- https://opeka.gr/oikogeneies/epidoma-paidiou/ilektronikes-ypiresies/
- https://www.idika.gr/epidomapaidiou/
Know your rights
Publication and website of the European Commission:
Who do you need to contact?
Organisation of Welfare Benefits and Social Solidarity (Οργανισμός Προνοιακών Επιδομάτων και ΚοινωνικήςΑλληλεγγύης ΟΠΕΚΑ-OPEKA)
Πατησίων 30/Patision 30,
101 70 Αθήνα/Athens
ΕΛΛΑΔΑ/GREECE
Tel.: +30 213 -15 19 300
Website: https://opeka.gr/
Labour Employment Office (OAED)
Insurance Directorate
International Relations Service
ΕθνικήςΑντιστάσεως 8/EthnikisAntistaseos 8
174 56 Άλιμος/Alimos
ΕΛΛΑΔΑ/GREECE
Tel.: +30 2109989000
Website: http://www.oaed.gr/
Citizens Service Centres (Κέντρα Εξυπηρέτησης Πολιτών–ΚΕΠ– KEP)
Tel.: 1500
Website: www.kep.gov.gr/portal/page/portal/kep
https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1112&langId=en&intPageId=4560